Help me hang my dinghy on my davits

[TommmD]

I have no pictures, but for everyone attaching to 2 transom- mounted eyes, how do you clear the motor? I have to leave the motor down, not great.
I have straps that circle the dinghy I'm not crazy about as an alternate.

[Privilege]

I used a couple of heavy 18" stainless eye bolts which stick out of the
back of the hull. They are bolted next to the factory-installed eyes on the RIB. The dyneema strops go from the roller to each eye. This allows my RIB to sit about 12" forward which is needed for my set-up and let's me raise it all the way to the davits. I went with 3/4" eye bolts which might have been overkill but when I inadvertently left the plug in whilst it was on the
davits, and the RIB filled with water, I was glad that I did.

[sck5]

"I attach one strap to the bow lifting eye, then across to the stern rail of the boat on the opposite corner, and likewise from one of the stern lifting eyes to the opposite side on the boat's stern. Cross bracing like this all but stops the dink from swaying from side to side.

-David "

Yes. I do exactly the same thing. The goal is to immobilize the dink completely. No movement at all. Diagonal ratchets attached to the stern pulpit will do that. I lead them from the lifting eyes over the dink tubes and then under the dink diagonally to the pulpit. I got mine at a trucker website ("Impervious to road salt!") Ratchet Straps, Tie Down Straps, E Track Tie Downs, Cargo Straps - U.S. Cargo Control Or you can pay a lot more to a marine chandler.

By the way, I don't know that I have seen a commonly sold RIB that didnt have lifting eyes already installed that weren't glued. They must be on there somewhere. You dont want to use the glued eyes to lift it at all. And depending on your davits, you really want to take the motor off before you go out in any kind of waves off the coast.

[TommmD]

Hmm

Going to have to add an engine hoist for offshore .. the 6 hp Tohatsu does way a ton.

Love the 18" eyebolt solution!

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by jbinbi

Thanks for the input so far. My concern was that attachment point in the bow, if you can see in 2nd or 3d pic (sorry the pics are sideways, I took them in landscape mode but on the site it must want larger vertical resolution so in the future I will have to rotate before posting) is down low under the tubes, so I was concerned about it chafing. Maybe making a pennant covered in plastic tubing to prevent chafing?

What size dyeema line are you using?

You can avoid the chafing issue entirely by mounting lifting padeyes to the dink's floor in another location as I described earlier, & which was mentioned by another poster.

On Dyneema sizing, the stuff is so strong that size really isn't an issue. Diameter for diameter it's stronger than (metal) rigging wire. Although it should be spliced, not tied. That said, even dacron or nylon line would work just fine. As would webbing.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by Privilege

I used a couple of heavy 18" stainless eye bolts which stick out of the
back of the hull. They are bolted next to the factory-installed eyes on the RIB. The dyneema strops go from the roller to each eye. This allows my RIB to sit about 12" forward which is needed for my set-up and let's me raise it all the way to the davits. I went with 3/4" eye bolts which might have been overkill but when I inadvertently left the plug in whilst it was on the
davits, and the RIB filled with water, I was glad that I did.

A tip on this is that you may want to use stainless compression sleeves overtop (around) the threaded section of the bolts. It'll strengthen things, as well as covering the sharp edges of the threads. Given that the lever arm on the bolts is so very long. And were it me, I'd mouse the shackles on the blocks.

[Ip485]

Going to have to add an engine hoist for offshore .. the 6 hp Tohatsu does way a ton.

Yep, mine is 15HP and going to change to a 20HP at some point. It is just too heavy to man handle safely in any conditions, and a positive liabilty with a bit of motion.

I had a rack mounted beneath the solar arch made and can use the electric winch to pick the engine up off the stern rail and drop it onto the RIB - one of the best things ever!

[a64pilot]

I used SS Lifeline for my lifting harness, I priced one or two and decided against buying one made from nylon straps, and I am sure the Lifeline is much stronger.
I have a 20 HP Suzuki (99 lbs) and leave it on the dink unless going a long ways then I will mount it on the rail.
I hung a pulley from the lower rail and run the line back to my sheep winch and use the Milwaukee drill to lift the heavy end when the motor is mounted on the dink.

[apacit]

First I never leave the motor on when I head out, way too much weight to get swinging. As another post mentioned, rain water can add a surprising amount of weight.

Next, I have a line with a snap hook that goes between the bow and stern lift points. Unless these points are the same distance apart as your davits, you will have a bad angle going into the blocks. This could rub or at least make raising or lowering difficult, as well as adding stress to the davits and dinghy. It could prevent some of the bow chafing.

With these items in mind, buy good quality stainless hooks, for workability and lifespan, but there isn't that much weight so the line I used is nothing special. Plan on adjusting it a few times to get it right, so bowlines make sense. I also used stainless rings as the lift points, easier to clip than a line.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Ip485

Yep, mine is 15HP and going to change to a 20HP at some point. It is just too heavy to man handle safely in any conditions, and a positive liabilty with a bit of motion.

I had a rack mounted beneath the solar arch made and can use the electric winch to pick the engine up off the stern rail and drop it onto the RIB - one of the best things ever!

I just hook my handy billy up between the motor and solar arch to raise and lower the motor when required.

Everyone should have one on board